The Silk House

About The Silk House

The Silk House ~ garden summary 2024

This is a classic, modern Japanese style stroll water garden set among various garden rooms. Lots of wildlife, birds, fish and an apiary. Visitors often remark how calm and peaceful the garden makes them feel. Sometimes we have meditation groups and classes, or talks on bonsai and Japanese garden design. We also host epicurean events sometimes. For 2024, because we are busy with development plans, we will only open the garden for one day for the NGS this year. Limited group visits may still be booked in advance. Minimum 20 persons.

The house was originally a tithe barn, dating to circa 1680, part of Rhoden Green farmstead, long since divided. We started to make the garden in 2016/17 in our spare time after work. It was a rough field then but is now looking spectacular. Silke is the plantswoman; RHS trained at Hever Castle, and Adrian is the designer & builder. The garden is always changing as we correct mistakes and implement new planting schemes and design refinements. We do everything ourselves: design, build, propagation, planting and maintenance. Almost everything we plant we grow from cuttings, seed or small pots. Silke loves propagating.

South facing and sheltered by trees, it has its own microclimate. However, we get strong winds, especially down the west side. Soil is neutral clay and the water table is high.

We’re very interested in Japanese gardens and have visited them all over Japan. Our ambition was to create part of our garden in Japanese style, but recognising we must make compromises for climate, soil and plant availability, as Japan is volcanic and humid. This part has taken 5 years so far, including creating banks and deep ponds. The concept is a water stroll garden, with a wildlife pond, bamboos and gunnera at one end, a wet and dry “canal”, a spectacular cherry tree pond with blue & golden orfe, common & great crested newts, and a filtered Koi pond as well as hundreds of young Koi. Several cherries and lots of pretty acers and a dozen or so bonsai. Sculptural fish swim through a yew hedge. There is also a meditative zen section with large set stones and a beautiful mature Niwaki acer from a Chelsea gold medal winning Japanese garden of Isihara Kazuyike.

In 2021 we planted a Japanese ‘cloud’ garden which will be shaped into freeform balls of buxus, crenata and other plants as it grows. There is a Japanese style path and some giant bamboos maturing.

Silke is also working on a dry garden on the west side and experimenting with drought tolerant plants. To the south is our quite large kitchen produce plot . We resurrected a derelict greenhouse, added another one, a potting shed and cold frame. This area supplies us with vegetables and is where Silke follows her passion for propagation from seeds, layering and cuttings, for example yew, lavender, herbs, ground cover and so on. Our Langstroth apiary is adjacent to the old pigeon loft in this area,

On the east side, is a small woodland walk. Grass and everything else is usually allowed to grow long for wildlife though we may change this area for 2024, opening it up somewhat.

We have an abundance of wildlife and feed birds year-round. It’s not complete yet: we’ll add more features as we get time, including a Torii gate and a tea house. As we create more garden zones, lawn areas will be reduced, and we will grow more hedges, cherries, acers, vegetables, flowers and grasses. We hope visitors will realise that this is quite a new garden and worth revisiting as we turn it into our vision. Visitors are welcome to help! It is fairly wheelchair friendly, but there are some steps and banks in places.

Visitors need to be aware that this is a private garden and you visit entirely at your own risk: we accept no liability. We have several ponds, the deepest being two metres. There is no access to the house and regrettably no loos (the nearest being in the garden centre or Waitrose nearby) though we do plan a solution soon. Garden entrance donations support the crucial NGS nursing and other charities.

We serve good quality coffee, tea and cakes but sometimes sell out! Plants are for sale if we have any left over from propagating, and Bonsai sometimes for sale. Any profits from these aspects help us support charities for homeless people, where we also sometimes volunteer.

Our web site will be updated prior to 2024 opening www.silkhousegarden.com. Instagram: @silkhousegarden.

Silke & Adrian
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Best Japanese stroll garden in the South East! Structural planting looks good year-round. Picnics welcome for an additional charitable donation of £10, please take all your litter home.